What do you think of when you think about Disney? Rides, right? Space Mountain, Seven Dwarves Mine Train... Characters? Mickey, Donald, the Muppets, Princesses... Well of course, those things are all amazing. And if you know me, then you know I'm all about a good ride. I'm planning to highlight a few favorites in Disney Post # 3. But if you didn't know, the food at Disney is pretty epic as well.
In our past trips to Disney, we spent more time doing character experiences. This time we decided to do the International thing! Since our daughter isn't quite as into the princess thing now, we made reservations each night (except our last night) at a different country in Epcot. For those unfamiliar with Epcot, one of the best features of Epcot is the World Showcase. Eleven countries have a "land" or Pavillion, featuring restaurants, food carts, shops, and entertainment. The cast members to work in those "lands" are from the countries represented. Disney really tries to make this an authentic-feeling experience.
Each of the restaurants featured accepts the Disney Dining Plan, but they don't all provide the same options. At some places, appetizers are included. At others they are not. Dessert was always included, though.
Les Chefs de France (France)
This was our favorite restaurant of the trip-- both the food and service were amazing. The dining plan gave us each an appetizer, entree, and dessert. Our waiter, Kevin, was phenomenal and went above and beyond to make our experience wonderful. The french onion soup here was amazing, as was everything else, especially dessert!
Akershus (Norway)
We actually did a Princess Storybook Dinner here. This wasn't my favorite food, but it did have the best appetizer selection. There was actually an appetizer buffet with lots of meats, cheeses, salads, veggies, and more. If you've got kiddos, this food isn't going to be that appealing to them, but the princess experience is fun.
Little girls will enjoy being part of the princess parade and having the princesses stop by the table to meet and greet.
Nine Dragons (China)
We really enjoyed Nine Dragons. Appetizers aren't included in the dining plan here. We ended up trying several different dishes and sharing them, but we didn't get photos of our food, except for the dessert. (Are you noticing a trend here?)
Via Napoli (Italy)
Italian... my favorite! I looked forward to this all week. The second we arrived, we knew we were in a good place. The atmosphere was very alive and it smelled soooo delicious. We got to watch the chefs preparing desserts as we waited. We probably should have gotten pizza, since they're kind of known for that, but we all opted for pasta: Spaghetti, Lasagna, and Alfredo Pasta. All were delicious, and so were the desserts! (Again...the only thing photographed!) Like Nine Dragons, no appetizer was included. However, we decided to order the Calamari- Ryan's favorite!
La Cantina de San Angel (Mexico)
This one is a quick service, and it's definitely worth stopping in! La Cantina is located right on the water. It was sunny but breezy the day we visited- just perfect weather!
We tried the tacos- both steak and chicken-- and both were delicious! We were so tired after spending a morning at Animal Kingdom that we really enjoyed the rest and the atmosphere here. After we ate, we did a little shopping in the San Angel Inn, which is a little plaza of shops located inside a pyramid.
Be Our Guest (Magic Kingdom)
On our last evening, we had reservations at Be Our Guest. We had eaten there previously for breakfast and lunch, but never dinner. Be Our Guest is MASSIVE, as compared to Cinderella's Royal Table and other Disney restaurants. It's a little chaotic. However, our food here was amazing also. Of course, you must try The Gray Stuff if you visit!
Other Quick Signature Disney Eats
You must eat Mickey-Shaped food while at Disney. I think it's a rule.
I also highly recommend the Dole Whip at Magic Kingdom- get the float!
If you're a fan of hot dogs, you shoudl visit Casey's at Magic Kingdom for great hot dogs! Ryan had the Bacon Mac and Cheese Dog and it was enormous!
We even brought home a few treats with our unused snack credits... like this Mickey Rice Krispie Treat!
So... those are just a few of our favorite Disney eats from this trip. Do you have favorite Disney foods? Drop a comment below and let me know!
In other news... Wow, I sure do need to do some updating... my header photos are way old. That's not my hair color anymore. I'm also playing with some different Blogging Software for the Mac. I fell in love with Blogsy for iPads and I loved Live Writer for the PC platform but Mac didn't have as many options. I'm trying Mars Edit now...but if you have suggestions...I'm open!
For this trip, we decided to surprise Sadie for her 10th birthday. That's right, we had to keep this whole plan a secret for MONTHS! That was probably the hardest thing about the experience. On the morning of her 10th birthday, we dropped her off at school like a normal day, but then we picked her up at lunch and surprised her with the news that we were going to Disney. Today. Like, we are headed to the airport RIGHT NOW.
It was an amazing moment we will all remember forever and she was truly blown away. We had a special birthday dinner in France at Les Chefs de France. I don't know that we will ever top her 10th birthday!
Les Chefs did an amazing job making her feel special. Kevin was our favorite waiter the entire trip!
We had the best trip. You know how something always goes wrong on every vacation? Well nothing really went wrong the whole time, including our flights to and from Orlando- they were both on time! That's a miracle in itself! We spent 4.5 days in the parks and had an absolute blast. I'm telling you, if you want to feel young, just head on down to Disney for your birthday. And wear the Birthday Button-- every where we went, people said to me, "There is no way you are 40! You look 29!" Well, hello, you are speaking my language. And I don't even care if it's all a lie to make you feel good.
On our last morning, we were a little later getting to Magic Kingdom, which normally would make me nervous, because I always have a plan of attack for our days at Disney. However, we were taking our time getting some fun photos when we were approached by a Disney employee who was asking us a little about our trip. As we were talking about some of the best spots in the park to watch the midday Festival of Fantasy Parade, we were shocked when he said, "Would you like to be our Grand Marshals?" We didn't need to think very long about that! Leading the parade at Disney? What a special experience on my 40th birthday and on our last day in the park!
At 3:00, we met up with the Cast Members who lead the parade, where we were given very special Mickey Ears that were personalized for the parade AND we had our own photographer assigned to us. We rode in a fancy car that was open so we could wave to all the crowds and had an awesome driver who made us feel at home and also made us laugh continuously.
After making our way through the crowd, we were given a special VIP location to watch the parade, right at the entrance to Magic Kingdom. We were so close to the floats we could practically touch them. Our photographer documented the whole experience with over 200 photos for us (Thank Goodness we had purchased the Memory Maker!)
All in all, it was an amazing experience and it was truly magical. We enjoyed one last dinner at Be Our Guest and then saw one final fireworks show as we got ready to leave. Probably the best possible way to end a Disney Vacation.
(Some Gray Stuff!)
I've got two other Disney posts planned. I'd like to do one post spotlighting some of the awesome food we ate, and another telling how we made the most of our time (and avoided lines)! Stay tuned!